Successful completion of pouring the first floor slab using functionally graded concrete in March 2026
© IntCDC
Great news! The floor slab above the ground floor has been concreted, incorporating a further 16,000 mineral hollow spheres. This marks the completion of the functionally graded concrete (FGC) components and lays the foundation for the IntCDC Building!
Milestones achieved:
December 10th-11th 2025: Concreting of the Foundation Slab
March 03th 2026: Concreting of the First Floor Slab Part1
March 18th 2026: Concreting of the First Floor Slab Part 2
March 21st 2026: Concreting of the First Floor Slab Part 3
© IntCDC
© IntCDC
Following extensive research and the production of numerous small-scale prototypes, as well as full-scale tests to obtain case-by-case approval in the ILEK laboratories, the first components of the new IntCDC Building were manufactured on the Vaihingen campus in the winter of 2025/2026. These were the foundation slab and the first-floor slab made of FGC. In this process, mineral hollow spheres are incorporated into the component to save on in-situ concrete in areas where the structural load permits. In addition to a mass saving of approximately 30% in the graded areas, this approach reduces resource consumption and emissions and creates a fully mineral-based component that can be more easily recycled should the need arise in the future.
The mineral hollow spheres are now manufactured on an industrial scale in linear strings of up to six pieces and bundled into so-called installation packs. This saves effort and thus time on site during installation and when securing them in place.
© IntCDC
© IntCDC
© IntCDC
© IntCDC
One of the approximately 16,000 15 cm hollow spheres used weighs just over 300 g with a wall thickness of around 2 mm, yet saves around 4.5 kg of in-situ concrete. With the larger spheres, the weight saving is even greater: the 30 cm spheres, with a weight of around 3 kg, displace approximately 35 kg of in-situ concrete.
© IntCDC
© IntCDC
On March 21st 2026, the first structural phase of the IntCDC Building’s FGC was completed with the concreting of the final floor slab.
© IntCDC
© IntCDC
This now provides the foundation for the construction of the next research component.
Stay tuned!
